In 2001 an estimated 107,300 new cases of Colon Cancer were diagnosed and colon cancer resulted in 48,100 estimated deaths. Resection of the large intestine is a frequently performed operation most commonly used to treat colon cancer, the third most common cancer in both men and women in the U.S. at the time of this writing. Colectomy is also used in the treatment of conditions such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and in cancer prevention in patients with conditions such as Familial Polyposis.
A move to less invasive surgeries has seen the advent of the laparoscopic-aided colectomy, in which the surgeon uses laparoscopic instruments to perform the bulk of the operation and finally, when the resected portion of colon is ready to be removed, an incision is made in the abdomen and the colon is removed. This operation spares the patient the large incisions that were required prior to the use of laparoscopic instruments, however, still necessitates a 12 cm incision for specimen removal.